


Driven

by Leni



Series: The Unexpected [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold in the Dark Castle, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: Written atComment Fic. prompt: tears.Part ofThe Unexpected.





	Driven

**Author's Note:**

> Written at [Comment Fic](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/832428.html?view=104352940#t104352940). prompt: tears. 
> 
> Part of [The Unexpected](https://lenific.tumblr.com/tagged/ar%3A-the-unexpected).

Blotting her tears with the back of her hand, Belle clutched her fingers around the teacup Rumpelstiltskin had conjured for her at the start of his revelation. It was cold now, but the sharp scent of mint that drifted to her nostrils reminded her that, despite the monstrous truths that came from his mouth, Rumpelstiltskin was a caring man at heart.

Mint tea was far from his favorite, yet he would uncomplainingly drink it after they’d discovered that it helped her keep down her meals.  
  
He meant well, Belle reminded herself, biting her lips to stop crying. Even bogged down in darkness, his only goal was to reach the son he’d lost. She didn’t fault his intention (how could she, as her own child grew within her?), but neither could she give her blessing to a curse that would damn hundreds of people. “I— I _can’t_ , Rumple,” she said, setting the cup down to hug herself. “This thing you’re planning…. It’s terrible.”  
  
“It’s the only way,” he reiterated, eyes wide with fervor.  
  
Belle looked away. She thought of the boy he’d described, his Baelfire. “Are you so sure your son will thank you for it?”  
  
Rumpelstiltskin leaped to his feet, a snarl caught in his throat. “You don’t understand! I will do anything for Baelfire!” He started pacing, and then stopped to loom over her, his voice a strangled hiss. “I will reach the world without magic, Belle. I have waited long enough. No matter the price. No matter what it costs—”  
  
“Me?” she interrupted, whipping her head up. Their eyes met, his own pleading for acceptance even while Belle’s mounted on fury. “What it costs _this_ child?”  
  
“Belle….”  
  
“You can’t place one child over the other, Rumpelstiltskin,” she snapped, knowing he would never accept that the whole of the Enchanted Forest couldn’t be turned into a disposable piece to be sacrificed for the sake of his son. Strangers were nothing to the Dark One, even in less important matters. However, if Rumpelstiltskin was driven to madness to protect Baelfire, then the new baby deserved as much of his father’s single-minded obsession to see him safe. “You will _not_ choose between them.”  
  
Rumpelstiltskin’s mouth parted. “I’m not… Belle, no.” He reached for her hands, his fingers as cold as hers and squeezed until she felt the edge of his nails at her palm. “Truly. I wouldn’t! But it’s the only way…”  
  
Belle wondered how many times he repeated that to himself every day. Whether it was even the truth anymore, after three hundred years.  
  
“So you’ll do it anyway,” she said, the words weighing on her as nothing had since the news that her home was sure to fall under the ogres. “You will let this curse take us all.”  
  
In the silence that followed, Belle loosened her hands from his.  
  
He stared at her, the plea in his eyes becoming anger, then dread, and then anger again. His hands curled into tight fists, and he set his jaw to glare at her. “You can’t stop it,” he whispered, half statement, half warning.  
  
Belle tilted her head up, coming to her feet with slow movements. “No,” she agreed, denying her misery from dragging her shoulders down. “Not if you truly mean to follow that path.” She turned her back to him, shaking her head so she wouldn’t start weeping again. “But I can be just as ruthless a parent, Rumple,” she told him. “You protect your child, and I’ll protect ours.”  
  
“That’s not…”  
  
“I will protect him!” She swirled around to meet his eyes in challenge. “ _Even from his father_!” 

 

The End  
13/07/17

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are great!


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